WASHINGTON — New polls out Thursday show that Hillary Clinton fares better than Barack Obama against John McCain in three key battleground states. The reason: Obama suffers from a defection of Clinton supporters and white working class voters in a fall matchup.
The surveys by Quinnipiac University show Democrat Clinton leading Republican McCain in all three, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
They show Obama leading in just one, Pennsylvania, and trailing in the other two.
"The numbers for Florida and Ohio are good news for Sen. John McCain and should be worrisome for Sen. Barack Obama," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute at the Connecticut school.
"That is especially true about Ohio, which decided the 2004 election. Ohio's economy is worse than the rest of the country and the Republican brand there is in disrepute. McCain's Buckeye lead may be a sign that nationally this may not be the easy Democratic walk to the White House that many expected."
The state by state numbers:
Florida: Clinton leads McCain 48-41; McCain leads Obama 45-41.
Ohio: Clinton leads McCain 48-41; McCain leads Obama 44-40.
Pennsylvania: Clinton leads McCain 50-37; Obama leads McCain 46-40.
The polls were conducted May 13-20. In Florida, it surveyed 1,419 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. In Ohio, it surveyed 1,244 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. In Pennsylvania, it surveyed 1,667 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
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